You could say that Jack Boyd Smith Jr. went out on a limb when he put his new, one-time extended wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom into use. In Elkhart, Ind., The classic car manufacturer and collector made a request to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to have the excellent interior of his vehicle to contain one of the rarest types of wood on the planet; Hawaii Koa.
It seems that Smith, whose company Gaska Tape manufactures adhesive tape and foam for the automotive industry, is very fond of Hawaii and anything made of Koa wood. His favorite piece of furniture is a Koa rocking chair he and his wife Laura bought on Maui years ago.
Jack Boyd Smith Jr. (pictured) waited almost three years for the Koa wood to become available in the interior through environmentally friendly measures.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
Normally, supplying rare wood for a Phantom veneer is not a challenge for the artisans at the Rolls-Royce Bespoke wood shop in the UK. But with Koa trees protected in Hawaii, only dead or fallen trees can be harvested. And then it can only come from private land.
The striking Koa line and details.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
According to Rolls-Royce, the search and negotiation of a suitable specimen of the esteemed Koa took almost three years. However, the end result is spectacular. The rich, warm, honey-colored Koa veneer flows over the Phantom’s dashboard, center console, rear picnic tables and doors. It is even used in a matching picnic hike that alone took more than 500 hours to create.
Jack Boyd Smith Jr. waited almost three years for the Koa wood to become available in the interior through environmentally friendly measures.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
It is therefore no wonder that the most complex and expensive example of the model delivered to an American buyer is known as ‘The Koa Phantom’.
“Now, every time I get in the car, I’m reminded of Hawaii,” says Smith, who adds the eighth generation Phantom EWB to its ever-growing collection. At present there are more than 60 cars, and its range includes four other Rolls-Royce cars; a rare 1923 Silver Ghost, a 2001 Corniche convertible, a 2011 Phantom Drophead and a 2015 Phantom.
The Starlight Headliner presents the constellations in the night sky in Cleveland, Ohio, the night of Mr. Smith’s birth.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
But it was another prize from his collection – a Pebble Beach-acclaimed Packard Twelve from 1934 – that inspired his latest Phantom’s beautiful deep blue exterior color. And here was another challenge.
To match the exact color of “Packard Blue” took more than 40 attempts. To aid the process, Smith even had a mudguard removed from his Packard and sent to Rolls-Royce headquarters in Goodwood, England.
Since Koa is protected, the wood had to be obtained after the tree fell by itself.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
The Phantom is a complement to the beautiful painting and features contrasting Dove Gray hand-painted pinstrips on either side, with the personalized initials ‘JBS Jr’ on the driver’s door and Mrs. Smith’s initials ‘LAS’ on the passenger side.
The car’s matching picnic barrier took more than 500 hours to create.
Photo by Grant Beachy, courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited.
Other customizations include a solid sterling silver Spirit of Ecstasy ornament on that iconic grille, Dove Gray leather on the inside that also matches the Packard’s cabin, and a glittering Starlight Headliner with 1,420 optical fiber lights on dark blue leather. The pattern shows the constellations of the night sky above Cleveland, Ohio, on mr. Smith’s birthday.
For Smith, who only started collecting cars in 2013 and admits he bought eight classic items in one day, his new Phantom was definitely worth the wait, and he calls it “a true work of art”. Go to thejbscollection.com to see the entire JBS collection.